Happy 2023, everyone! It’s already halfway through March somehow, and the year is already feeling more “normal” than any year since 2019 has. (Granted, things will never truly be the way they were pre-Rona.)

My year got off to a roaring start with a trip out to the Pacific Northwest – in fact, I celebrated New Year’s in the Hoh Rainforest in Washington State! And as I’m hitting publish on this, I just finished up a 2-week trip in Morocco.

2023 is shaping up to be a pretty epic year travel-wise, and I hope it will also be a great year content and business-wise, too.

Let’s get to this update!

January and February: The months in travel

• Countries visited: 3 – USA, Spain, and Morocco
• States visited: 4 – Washington state, Oregon, Arizona, New York
• Flight taken (incl. connections): 10
• Days spent on the road: 20

Travel highlights

Hiking in the Hoh Rainforest – I started the New Year off with a visit to a new-to-me national park, spending the morning of January 1, 2023 hiking and gawping at moss-draped trees in the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park. This park (and specifically this section of it) is absolutely enchanting! I already wrote about it here: Visiting the Hoh Rainforest in Winter: Everything You Need to Know.

Chilling on the Oregon coast – After the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, my friend and I drove down to the northern Oregon coast, where we rented a beach-front apartment in the town of Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach is sleepy in the winter months, and we split our time between exploring beaches and state parks and just relaxing in our cozy digs.

Adventurous weekend in Scottsdale – In mid-January, Elliot and I flew to Scottsdale, Arizona for an action-packed couples trip. We went hiking, horseback riding (for me), mountain biking (for Elliot), and even on a UTV adventure. We also ate lots of great food and stayed at some fun properties. I always love spending time in Scottsdale, and think it’s a great destination for a couples trip!